This invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing enhanced intelligent network capabilities.
Problem:
One of the capabilities of the advanced intelligent network is the capability for initiating telecommunications connections. A service control point sends commands to one or more connected switching systems to establish connections in accordance with commands. The switching systems respond whenever the process of establishing a connection encounters a trigger detection point such as the encountering of a busy signal or an answer signal. In response to receiving a report, the SCP issues new commands to the switches. This arrangement can be used effectively, for example, to automatically establish a multi-party conference call one leg at a time, including capabilities for connecting an alternate leg if one of the specified legs is either busy or does not answer.
Solution:
Applicant has recognized that a problem of the prior art is that the Initiate Call Attempt, (ICA), process is inflexible in that the characteristics of a connection are predefined by standards, and hard coded in a switch, (switching system). This problem is solved, and an advance is made over the prior art in accordance with Applicants"" invention wherein an ICA request from a service control point (SCP) is directed to a switch and specifies. the identity of a real or a pseudo calling port for providing translation data to specify the characteristics of a desired connection. The translations associated with a pseudo calling port are the same as translations which would be associated with a real port thereby providing the full range of capabilities of a switching system to either a real or a pseudo port. In response to a request to connect to some other port, the target port, a time slot is assigned for such a connection to the target port. The connection from the target port to a customer station or to another switch is established in the usual way. In response to events that are to be reported to the SCP, events such as xe2x80x9cbusyxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9canswerxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cfailure to answerxe2x80x9d after a certain time-out interval, the SCP sends another message requesting that a connection be established between the target port, and an announcement generator or another port of the originating switch.
In the prior art, the ICA request can specify a connection to a previously specified target port. In accordance with this invention, a pseudo port, or real port, is used to specify the characteristics of the connection, even though no connection is made to the pseudo, or real port, using the translations of the pseudo, or real port. The characteristics (billing plan, dialing plan, bandwidth, length of call, etc.), of a connection to the target port can be specified by the translations associated with the pseudo or real port (defining port). These characteristics include the line and trunk features available in the switching system. Advantageously, the characteristics of a connection can be specified by translation information instead of being inflexibly tied to the pre-defined standard characteristics. Advantageously, this arrangement allows the full flexibility of port- translations to be applied to ICA requests without requiring that a physical port be assigned to correspond to the translations required for determining where, and how a call is to be routed to the target port. Advantageously, the existing call control structures, (terminal processes, signaling interfaces, and interface with the SCP), can be used without major modification.
In response to an ICA request, an ICA terminal process is created in the switch. In accordance with the principles of Applicant""s invention, the ICA terminal process instead of being associated with the target port, or other port of the connection, is associated with a real, or pseudo, i.e., defining port, providing the translation data for determining the characteristics of the connection. The association with the defining port allows the terminal process to access translation information required to identify the dialing plans and billing information for the defining port. The ICA terminal process for the defining port must be able to process and connect multiple call appearances in order to provide the facilities for letting that terminal process control a conference call, or to control any other call between two physical ports. The ICA terminal process for the defining port must also interface with terminal processes for physical terminals.
In accordance with one feature of this invention, an ICA request can be used to establish a connection to a line served by this or another switch. That line can then use the characteristics of a port or pseudo port of the switch connected to the SCP for the duration of the connection.
In accordance with Applicant""s invention, a new recent change facility is required to provide the definitions of service characteristics needed to populate the data base for a pseudo port. This is accomplished by providing facilities to specify a pseudo calling line identification for creating translations for a pseudo port. A relation is then used, accessed by the pseudo calling line identification, to point to the tuple which contains the translation information associated with the pseudo port.
In one preferred embodiment of Applicant""s invention, the ICA for the defining port terminal process is a conventional originating terminal process in a switching system of an intelligent network. The ICA for the defining port terminal process is responsive to commands from the SCP as in the prior art. The call processing transactions are initiated by a command message from the SCP. The ICA terminal process for the defining port then establishes connections in accordance with the principles and protocols of the prior art, but importantly, uses the translation of the defining port, not the user port, to specify the characteristics of a connection. The defining port translation data need not be tied to the data of any existing user.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a connection is established from a port for accessing a destination. This port can also be connected to other ports of the switching system. Such ports include announcement systems, recording systems, speech recognition systems, conference bridges, and ports to the SCP. The latter can be used to establish an SCP to SCP connection for exchanging data between two SCPs.
A service provider establishes a translation database for a pseudo port for use by an enhanced ICA by transmitting commands to a switch using the recent change facility. A customer can then request the SCP to send an immediate, or delayed ICA request, which will use the translations of the pseudo port.